How to Use runoff in a Sentence

runoff

1 of 2 noun
Definition of runoffnext
Synonyms for runoffnext
  • If all fall short, the top two will face off in a runoff election on Nov. 19.
    — David Feliba, Washington Post, 25 Aug. 2023
  • Still, Johnson will have a steep hill to climb in the runoff election.
    — Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2023
  • On August 20th, Arévalo won the runoff with fifty-eight per cent of the vote.
    — Graciela Mochkofsky, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2023
  • Over 200 homes in Mesa flooded in the hours after the rain stopped, as runoff fed the water flow.
    — Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 10 Oct. 2024
  • Scott and Thurmond went to a runoff election, which the former won by more than 30 points.
    — W. James Antle Iii, Washington Examiner, 12 Apr. 2023
  • That could be, for instance, ranked choice voting or a runoff.
    — Ashley Lopez, NPR, 24 Sep. 2024
  • And the spectacular rains and snowpack runoff should be the moment to do so.
    — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2023
  • To avoid a runoff against his two rivals, Subianto needs more than 50% of all votes cast and at least 20% in each of the country's provinces.
    — Niniek Karmini and Edna Tariganthe Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 15 Feb. 2024
  • Current Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a Democrat, did not make the cut for the runoff.
    — Houston Keene, Fox News, 4 Apr. 2023
  • That erosion allows more runoff into the ocean, which harms coral reefs.
    — Kathleen Wong, USA TODAY, 31 July 2023
  • The two will face off in a runoff election, which is scheduled for December 9.
    — Rayna Reid Rayford, Essence, 9 Nov. 2023
  • This was the first high-flow experiment since 2018 and the first during the spring runoff season.
    — Shaun McKinnon, The Arizona Republic, 27 Apr. 2023
  • Still, Bravo’s six challengers hoped to siphon off enough votes to pull him into a runoff.
    — Megan Rodriguez, San Antonio Express-News, 15 May 2023
  • Good winters followed by equally good spring runoff have been hard to come by in the West in recent years.
    — Ella Nilsen, CNN, 24 June 2023
  • Herrera only won 24% of the vote in the March primary, but the runoff has been a headache for Gonzales.
    — Caroline Linton, CBS News, 28 May 2024
  • Mayor Lori Lightfoot came in third in the February election and didn’t make the runoff.
    — Joe Barrett, wsj.com, 4 Apr. 2023
  • People gather in Paris to protest against the far right ahead of the second-round runoff elections to be held Sunday.
    — Carlo Angerer, NBC News, 7 July 2024
  • Otherwise, the two candidates with the most votes will head to a runoff election Dec. 3.
    — Alex Golden, Axios, 26 Sep. 2024
  • In the city of Chicago, the mayor, Lori Lightfoot, just failed to make the runoff in the Democratic primary.
    — CBS News, 5 Mar. 2023
  • Everyone was focused on the runoffs because of what was at stake.
    — Ivan Pereira, ABC News, 19 June 2024
  • In each of the city races, the top two finishers in the March primary will advance to a November runoff.
    — David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Oct. 2023
  • The dirt two-track twists through Mud Tanks Draw, an area of low ground between ridges where water runoff collects in a chain of pools, rivulets and mucky ponds.
    — Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 18 Apr. 2024
  • The issues outraged the mayor and council members at the time, who called for the city to not pay the county for overseeing the runoff that June.
    — Everton Bailey Jr., Dallas News, 17 May 2023
  • Spring runoff goes under the building, creating a musty smell.
    — Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, 13 Feb. 2024
  • Then suddenly the falls’ overflow was upon us, runoff splashing across the trail.
    — Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2023
  • Because neither man won more than 50% of the vote, they were placed in a runoff election, with ballot counting to start March 1.
    — Tom Kertscher, Fortune, 2 Feb. 2023
  • If no one wins more than 50% of votes on March 5, the top two candidates will compete in a November runoff.
    — Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2024
  • If neither candidate tops 50%, the contest would go to a runoff three weeks later.
    — Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Washington Post, 6 Nov. 2023
  • Biagi is at least the third department head to leave since Johnson won the runoff election in April.
    — Sarah Freishtat, Chicago Tribune, 31 July 2023
  • In a runoff, the two candidates with the most popular votes would compete to win the majority of districts.
    — Karri Peifer, Axios, 31 Oct. 2024
Advertisement

run off

2 of 2 verb
  • Ring footage, the post said, showed the boys knock on the door and run off.
    — Isabel Hughes, USA TODAY, 26 Aug. 2023
  • The car ran off the left side of the roadway and hit a tree.
    — Jeff A. Chamer, Charlotte Observer, 9 Apr. 2024
  • Martinez runs off the left side of the line for a gain of 2.
    — Nick Daschel | [email protected], oregonlive, 3 Sep. 2023
  • The Vibe ran off point streaks of five and six in the first game alone, winning 25-17.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Feb. 2024
  • The Blue Jays scored their lone run off Manning in the third.
    — Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press, 28 Aug. 2021
  • After the crash, the BMW driver jumped out and ran off.
    — Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Dec. 2023
  • Instead, Aquino coughed up the ball, and the Cubs scored their third run off of Ashcraft.
    — Charlie Goldsmith, The Enquirer, 14 Aug. 2022
  • What happened: Ja’Marr Chase had a short gain on a run off the right side of the line.
    — Michael Niziolek, cleveland, 18 Sep. 2022
  • His 33-yard run off right tackle was the club’s longest gain of the night.
    — Jim McBride, BostonGlobe.com, 27 Aug. 2022
  • Yet, a third of the way in, the exhibition runs off the rails.
    — Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2023
  • The filter is washable, so there is no need to run off to the store to get a new one.
    — Sanah Faroke, PEOPLE.com, 22 Aug. 2021
  • The match was tied at 12, but after the Dons ran off five straight points, the end seemed inevitable.
    — Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Nov. 2023
  • As the roadway curved back to the left, the vehicle ran off the right side of the roadway.
    — Carol Robinson | [email protected], al, 26 July 2023
  • Hill flashed a peace sign to the video before running off the field.
    — Scott Thompson, Fox News, 15 Oct. 2023
  • The other three ran off, but all were soon caught and detained.
    — Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 July 2023
  • But on just the third lap of its journey, it has already been run off the road.
    — Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2021
  • No one has gotten a hit or a run off him in his last six games.
    — Sarah Valenzuela, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2022
  • But as of today, Spears cannot, say, run off to Vegas and tie the knot.
    — Elizabeth Wagmeister, Variety, 14 Sep. 2021
  • In the past, when the police showed up to conduct patrols, the young men would run off.
    — New York Times, 4 Feb. 2022
  • Then the suspects ran off laughing with the woman's phone.
    — Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 8 Feb. 2024
  • The police said the driver’s left front tire blew out, causing his car to run off the right side of the road.
    — Washington Post, 1 Dec. 2021
  • While driving home one night, he was run off the road by a couple of cars.
    — David Peisner, Rolling Stone, 20 May 2024
  • By the time the camera went back down to the field, Pacheco was running off the field with his teammates.
    — Scott Thompson, Fox News, 4 Oct. 2023
  • Are there a ton of nieces and nephews there as well and all the kids run off together?
    — Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 19 July 2023
  • Then Lewan secured a takedown with no time left to run off with a 4-2 win.
    — Eli McKown, Detroit Free Press, 17 Mar. 2022
  • Just 18 days later, the mobster trio came back to the home — this time running off with the artwork.
    — María Luisa Paúl, Washington Post, 30 Jan. 2024
  • One of the dogs managed to run off and remains loose, WKBN reports.
    — Cliff Pinckard, cleveland, 10 Oct. 2022
  • Los Angeles had their first run off Webb in the series and a lead.
    — Jorge Castillo Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2021
  • The victim was run off the road, beaten, pistol-whipped and shot multiple times.
    — Sean Emery, Orange County Register, 28 Oct. 2024
  • Before Orion could disinter his fawn, though, he’d been run off by a bear.
    — Ben Goldfarb, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'runoff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: